Laid-off Hostess workers eligible for federal aid

Jamie Smith Hopkins, The Baltimore Sun

Laid-off Hostess Brands workers, including 192 in Maryland, are eligible for federal trade assistance benefits, the U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday.

The Trade Adjustment Assistance program offers retraining help and other aid, coordinated by state workforce agencies, to people who lost their jobs as a result of foreign trade. The Labor Department said its investigation showed "increased imports of baked products contributed importantly to the company's sales declines and worker separations."

In total, about 18,000 former employees of the bankrupt bread and snack-cake company are eligible, the agency said. Hostess had seven locations in Maryland, including an outlet shop in Glen Burnie.